Nothing better to do?
This is rather lame:
Sakinah Aaron was walking into the bus area at the Wheaton Metro station several weeks ago, talking loudly on her Motorola cell phone. A little too loudly for Officer George Saoutis of the Metro Transit Police.
The police officer told Aaron, who is five months pregnant, to lower her voice. She told the officer he had no right to tell her how to speak into her cell phone.
Their verbal dispute quickly escalated, and Saoutis grabbed Aaron by the arm and pushed her to the ground. He handcuffed the 23-year-old woman, called for backup and took her to a cell where she was held for three hours before being released to her aunt. She was charged with two misdemeanors: “disorderly manner that disturbed the public peace” and resisting arrest.
Those are the facts on which both sides agree.
Even though loud cell-phone talkers annoy the crap out of me, they shouldn’t be arrested for it. Hit about the head and neck area by passers-by, sure. Arrested, no. More:
Transit Police and some Metro officials say Saoutis was protecting the peace by removing a woman who had overstepped the boundaries of civil behavior because she was loudly cursing into her phone.
They say that cell phones have become just another instrument of loutish behavior in the public space and that they are fighting a dramatic deterioration of manners in the transit system.
I’m afraid it’s not up to the police to determine what oversteps the boundaries of civil behavior. That would be a matter of law, not law enforcement. It may be offensive, but it doesn’t warrant being taken to the ground, handcuffed and jailed.
October 22nd, 2004 at 11:59 am
[…] orced to the ground and arrested for talking on her cell phone too loudly (who I mentioned here) is happy that the stupid charges against her were dropped: “We di […]
September 28th, 2004 at 9:34 am
Respectfully, I disagree. The civil authorities have spoken, as when they pass ordinances against loud noise in public places. The policeman was doing the bidding of the civil authorities, as is his job. He gave the lady an opportunity to walk away with grace. She declined. The policeman may have over-reacted, but what other options were open to him? To disregard a violation of local ordinances? The civil authorities write the local ordinances and expect the police to enforce them. Blaming the police for the failure of society is like blaming a doctor for cancer.
September 28th, 2004 at 9:39 am
I think such ordinances apply to people walking down the street YELLING TO THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS. Loud talking is not the same thing, imo.
Granted, I wasn’t there and maybe she was yelling. But I tend to doubt it.
September 28th, 2004 at 10:11 am
The Devil is in the details. As a long-time cop, I agree that we have too many laws. We could use about half of what is currently on the books. Civil authorities tend to write laws that make little sense. Lets take your example of walking down the street yelling to the top of their lungs. Would that same person be in violation if they were sitting on the curb yelling to the top of their lungs? The Devil is indeed in the details.
The sticking point is that the police officer gave the lady an opportunity to de-escalate. She declined.
I sense that you and I are basically in agreement on this matter, but seeing the issue from different perspectives. Thanks for listening to mine.
September 28th, 2004 at 10:22 am
Yes, I understand that the police have an important, yet dangerous and largely thankless job, but I’m starting to get pissed by things like this. If she miscarries, that cop ought to be charged with murder.
September 28th, 2004 at 12:21 pm
ok big picture fellows this occured in Washington DC. What is the murder rate there? Don’t you think they could moving funding from the metro to other areas that actually need it.
this case points out why they have a high murder rate, they care about beating up pregant women.